Ode to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Is this the hero of whom I have read
Curled up in a blanket on the hospital bed
He twisted and turned as he slept
This dreaming savior of people wept

He saw the number of people trapped in a burning office building
And some that jumped to their death to escape the burning
He rushed through the burning downstairs door
And up the stairs to the occupied floor

The people were trapped by the locked stairs door
They could not get out by the stairs from their floor
He unlocked each locked door and called to the trapped
‘Come and get out down the stairs by the steps’

He pushed them down the stairs with quiet authority
‘Do not jump, I will lead you down the stairs warily’
And he did so with the greatest impunity
The people rushed out of the burning door happily

There were some minor burns to the skin
But they have survived the fire without jumping
He remembered those who jumped and the fear on their faces
It was a nightmare to remember in any place

He could not eat or drink and tried to sleep
But sleep would not come as he continued to weep
His heart was sad as he remembered the tragic events of the day
Happy are the families of those saved who can see their children play.

-An original poem by Kenneth Kee